Good Eats - Leftover Oatmeal Bread

What to do with leftover oatmeal? Make bread! At least that's what Alton Brown does.

I have to say, results from this recipe are different everytime I make it. It all depends on the moisture level of the leftover oatmeal. And even when the dough seems too moist and I add a little flour, it's still a little unpredictable. In all, it makes for an interesting loaf.

I really like how some of the ingredients are by weight - I hope to cook this way more since I find too many fluctuations in my recipes. For example, sometimes I think I'm measuring 1/4 cup of margarine only to dump it in the bowl and realize there was a giant air pocket that I wasn't aware of. At least weighing my ingredients would help prevent that. Seems like the Brits do this already.

Anyways - back to the recipe - I tend to dump hot oatmeal into a bowl nowadays and add the agave and olive oil. I omit the extra water since I don't often need it. Then I add all the dry ingredients (except I use w/w bread flour) and yeast on top then put it in the Kitchenaid. I find the warm oatmeal is the same as using warm water so it helps it rise. I watch it and add a little flour where necessary. I let it rise for a few hours, turning on the Kitchenaid to knead it a little every hour or so. Then I continue with the instructions for baking. I've even made balls of dough, poked a hole in the middle, stretched out the hole and made delicious baked bagels.

Today's loaf? Moist on the inside, with a tough crust. It's a gum cutter loaf!

ETA - I of course don't use the egg...in fact, I just leave the loaf as is before baking. I suppose some soymilk or a flax egg bath with some oats or sesame seeds would be good, but I find they fall off while cutting anyways.